Michael Carrick is starting to make Manchester United supporters remember Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and not in a good way. Carrick is not evoking memories of “the baby faced assassin” and his clutch goal-scoring. Solskjaer excelled when he was the interim manager at United, but flopped after that tag got removed from his job title. Is Carrick a bit of history repeating? Well, the first part was definitely true, and as for the second portion, it’s still early.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 of 8
Kickoff: Tues Oct 13, 8pm
Venue: Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
Manchester United Preview Material: Team News Predicted Starting XI
UCL Standing, Form: Manchester United 4th, 3 pts W Atletico Madrid 25th, 0 pts, L
Result Probability, According to Google: Manchester United win 26% Draw 24% Atletico Madrid win 50%
However, the early returns are not good. That is putting it lightly. This is United’s worst start, in the league, in 40 years.
Given how horrible Tottenham are right not, any tie with them feels like a loss, for anybody. And conceding in extra time like that, really made it feel like a defeat.
At least the next match is already almost here, so they must all move on quickly. Time to project the first team, which will take on Atletico Madrid, at their ground, in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
We don’t expect a ton of changes from Saturday’s lineup, other than Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot coming in.
Manchester United Predicted XI at Atletico Madrid
Senne Lammens; Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw; Kobbie Mainoo, Youri Tielemans; Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; Matheus Cunha
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.